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See the full story · 2 sourcesAmazon -owned Zoox said Wednesday it will start offering paid robotaxi rides in Las Vegas beginning Aug. 10, marking the company's first commercial launch as it seeks to scale up and compete with Alphabet 's Waymo.
Zoox has been offering free driverless rides to the public in parts of Las Vegas and San Francisco since last year. In July, federal regulators issued Zoox a temporary exemption from rules requiring human controls, giving it the green light to begin charging fares.
"However hard it was to build the technology up to get up to this point, there's a new hard that's coming, which is paid operations, where with the customer, there's an expectation," Zoox CEO Aicha Evans said in an interview. "It's different when it's free vs. when the customer is going to pay."
Evans said she's now focused on establishing a "stellar, lovable commercial service."
Unlike other autonomous vehicle operators, which have relied on retrofitted cars with a steering wheel and brakes, Zoox uses toaster-shaped shuttles that lack traditional driver controls. They feature a carriage-style design, with inward-facing seats for up to four passengers, and bidirectional wheels that allow it to move forward or backward without turning around.
Since launching its free service last year, Zoox said it has transported nearly one million riders across Las Vegas, San Francisco, Austin and Miami.
The company said fares will be calculated from a base price, plus distance and time traveled from pickup to drop-off. It may also include destination fees for certain trips, such as those going to or from the airport, which is a "similar structure to ride-hailing and traditional taxi services," Zoox said.
Zoox declined to say what its base fare will be, but the company said it aims to be competitive with "comfort" level pricing offered by ride-hail services. By comparison, Uber Comfort is a higher-tier service than its most basic offering, UberX.
Federal regulatory approval was just the first step to charging fares. Zoox will now need to obtain state and local approvals to launch paid trips beyond Las Vegas. Evans said Zoox is engaged with several different state agencies as it works to scale its commercial service.
Not all states have been receptive to the growing AV industry. In February, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul abandoned a proposal that would have allowed for commercial robotaxi services in some parts of the state. And in March, New York City allowed a Waymo permit to expire, bringing the limited test to an end.
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